A former SNP campaign manager and charity boss has been cleared of taking photos of a half-naked friend who was asleep at his flat.
Nathan Sparling, 31, was said to have snapped images of the unconscious man who had his genitals exposed following a drinking session in Edinburgh city centre.
Sparling – who was chief executive of HIV Scotland at the time – was said to have taken the illicit stills on his friend’s own phone after the man had “blacked out” at his home in the city’s Leith area.
The alleged victim said he discovered the “seven or eight” pictures of him sleeping on Sparling’s couch, with his underwear pulled down, when he checked his phone the following morning.
A sheriff found the allegation, prosecuted under the Sexual Offences Act, to be not proven and Sparling walked free from the dock on Monday following a two day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
‘Reprehensible’ but not enough to convict
Sheriff John Cook said he found Sparling had taken the images but that the Crown had not supplied enough evidence to convict Sparling of breaching the terms of the Act
The sheriff described Sparling’s actions as “reprehensible” but added he was not persuaded to convict him under the charge brought by the Crown.
Sparling is an ex-campaign manager for the SNP’s former Westminster leader Angus Robertson.
Previously a resident of Dundee, Glenrothes and Dunfermline, he has held various positions on Dundee University students bodies.
He is also well-known for his popular drag queen act in which he uses the name Nancy Clench when performing routines.
The alleged victim, who cannot be identified due to legal reasons, told the trial he met up with Sparling at an Edinburgh bar on September 30, 2019.
The pair drank beer before heading to a nearby wine bar where they shared two bottles of wine and had shots.
The man said he had little memory of leaving the bar and “could not remember a single thing” about being in Sparling’s flat later that night.
The man, who is in his 30s, said: “I had a blackout and can’t remember anything.
“I woke up in the morning and I was undressed from the waist down.
“My shoes had been taken off and my pants had been rolled down and I was exposed.”
The man said he then made his way to the toilet where he “sat for two minutes and looked at his phone”.
He said he opened his photo roll and the first images he saw were of himself lying naked and unconscious in Sparling’s flat.
He said: “My head was slumped to the side and I was unconscious.
“I was absolutely frightened as I was in a vulnerable state.
“I was visible from head to toe and my genitals were exposed, though I was not aroused.”
‘Victim’ speaks of trauma
The alleged victim told the court he had been left “mentally shocked and traumatised” by finding the “seven or eight” half-naked pictures and had instantly deleted them.
He said he had been left “confused” by the incident and did not tell anyone or do anything about it at the time.
The court heard the man decided to inform the board of trustees at HIV Scotland and report the matter to the police some months later.
Sparling told the court he first met the man and his partner when they attended at one of his drag act shows.
He said the man fell asleep in his flat and he had “no recollection of taking any photos” when the pair returned to his home.
Sparling said: “If I had taken any photos it would have been as a joke.
“But the only thing I did was put a blanket over him so he was warm while he slept.”
Public figure
As well as working with Mr Robertson, Sparling was chief executive of the HIV Scotland charity between December 2018 to December 2020 and currently works for a PR company.
He also co-hosts an online political and current affairs podcast called A New Nation.
According to his website, he has been chair of Newcastle Community Council in Glenrothes.
He was a member of the student representative council at Dundee University Student Association and webmaster for the university’s Student Nationalist Association.
A Dunfermline fan, he is also a member of the SNP and Unite the Union.
